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Scholarship named for SBE founder John Battison

The founder of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, John H. Battison, P.E., CPBE, who passed away on Aug. 28 at the age of 96, is being memorialized with the creation of a scholarship in his name. The John H. Battison SBE Founder’s Scholarship will be presented to an applicant who seeks to enter or advance in the field of broadcast engineering. This decision comes today, on what would have been Battison’s 97th birthday.

The Ennes Educational Foundation Trust, the non-profit, charitable arm of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, is adding the scholarship to several others it already awards annually. The new scholarship recognizes the instrumental role Battison played in the formation of the SBE. It was Battison’s vision for a professional organization dedicated solely to the broadcast engineer and his personal efforts to invite station engineers from across the U.S. and Canada to join, that resulted in the organization of the SBE in 1964. Battison served as the new organization’s steering committee chairman and then as its first president.

“No one person has done more towards advancing the broadcast engineering profession than John Battison. The Ennes Trust is pleased to honor the memory of the founder of the Society of Broadcast Engineers with the creation of this scholarship,” said Ennes Trustee, Fred Baumgartner, CPBE.

The scholarship will be awarded to selected applicants who are currently in the broadcast engineering field and seek to expand their knowledge in media technology, or to a graduating high school senior who plans a career in broadcast engineering and will be attending a college, university or technical school.

Ralph Hogan, CPBE, DRB, CBNE, the president of the SBE said, “John Battison had a vision of an organization that would provide station engineers with technical education they could use in their work everyday. I can’t think of a better way to memorialize him than through a scholarship that will help young engineers advance their technical knowledge in our business.”

Applications for the John H. Battison SBE Founder’s Scholarship will be available by October 1, 2012 and can be obtained on the SBE website, www.sbe.org. The annual deadline for all Ennes Scholarships is July 1 with the announcement of the recipients made by the end of July.